Promise
by ExceptionalyOrdinary
Summary: [Sequel to Curiosity] When a very special NetNavi to her suddenly stops showing, Lei begins to worry about his well being. But there's only one place she could find him in, and she can't go there alone, anymore. Rated T for some profanity and other stuff.
1. Favor

**A/N: And I'm back with a short sequel to Curiosity, suggested by the lovely BakedPopsicles!**

 **I predict this story to be a three-shot, though I'm bad with predictions, so it might end up as more from previous experiences.**

 **I hope whoever still remembers my first fic will enjoy, and for those who don't know what the hell I'm talking about, this is the third part in the installment, with the first being Closeness(Prologue) - Curiosity - This. Go check them out before you read this one, if you haven't! ^^**

 **~Chapter 1~**

* * *

Gazing through her bedroom window, Lei was lost in her thoughts. Her blue eyes wandered to NetCity's high buildings in the distance, their pulsing bright lights effortlessly shining through the quiet, dark night. Somehow, lately, she always found herself in this position after coming back from work; sitting on her bed with her head resting in her palm, her arms supported by the window frame beneath them and her mind trailing off to think about countless different things, some important, some not at all.

She let out a sigh.

Lei knew why she was this troubled. Unfortunately, she knew too well.

 _'Bass.. Just what on earth are you doing..?'_ She thought to herself, her expression turning sad.

It has already been a month and a half since everything that's happened. Delivery work didn't seem to get any less demanding, and the petite Navi found herself more and more busy as time went by. The fuss about her and Bass already died down as everyone eventually moved to talk about the next big gossip, which was now, according to rumors, various random parts of the net being unstable. Her life was basically back to its normal, daily routine and nothing was out of the ordinary anymore.

Except for the cloaked Navi's visits, which reduced from maybe once a week, to basically none.

She bit her lower lip as her expression turned into a mixture of confusion and frustration.

Not only did she not know anything about his whereabouts since he strongly refused to take part in the Communication System, but Bass himself made her promise him in his last visit that she won't try to come and find him by herself ever again.

 _"I promised you that I will stay_ _away from trouble, so you must promise me to never come find me in there by yourself, again."_

His words echoed through her mind as she let out another worried breath.

Then what was taking him so long? Why was the last time she saw him 3 weeks ago and counting?

Lei had no answer.

Shifting her blue eyes to her bed, the petite Navi slumped down into it, her long, straight brown ponytail spreading all around her. She turned on her side as she watched her room in silence for a few moments, remembering his last visit, which was also his first time in her house.

 _'Too bad he didn't stay long..'_ She thought to herself, feeling her eyelids get gradually heavier by the minute.

She blinked as various possibilities shot through her mind.

 _'Is he.. Angry about something..?'_ She wondered, biting her lip.

Suddenly, her blue eyes widened with realization as her expression turned worried at the terrible thought;

 _'What if.. Something happened to him?'_ She raised a hand to her mouth.

Bass _did_ make a promise with her to stay away from trouble, but what if the trouble found him?

The female Navi buried her face in her pillow in a desperate attempt to calm herself down from all of these dreadful notions. They were certainly not helping her feel any better, especially since she knew she just needed to stay positive and trust him to be okay.

"He's Bass, after all." She reminded herself in a quiet voice.

Lei breathed deep and let out a sigh, successfully managing to calm down.

Then, she felt herself drift into sleep mode.

* * *

"Morning, girl!" A tall, female red-haired Navi called.

Lei lifted her blue eyes up from a stack of confirmation forms she was carrying to meet with her friend's green ones.

"Hi Mea, morning." She answered, smiling.

Mea eyed the heavy-looking stack of paper resting in the petite Navi's hands for a few moments in silence, then grabbed half the amount her friend was holding.

"Thanks." Lei said as they both continued floating down the hallway to transfer everything they were now both carrying to its rightful place.

"What's up? You've been looking kinda sad lately." The tall Navi suddenly asked, watching her closely.

Lei blinked as her eyes widened.

While she thought she was doing a fairly good job at hiding her worries, evidently, nothing gets past her tall friend.

She kept quiet for a few moments, shifting her blue eyes to the ground.

"I guess it shows, huh..?" She asked, smiling sheepishly up at Mea.

The tall Navi simply shook her head in disbelief.

"I wish you'd be more honest with me about your feelings, you know?" She admitted, raising an eyebrow down at her direction. After everything that's already happened and after hiding a such a big secret from her and Dean, the tall, female Navi expected her friend to be a bit more open by now.

Lei nodded, then breathed deep.

"You're right, I'm sorry." She quickly apologized, her voice soft, "It's about Bass.."

The tall Navi stared at her with a puzzled expression.

"What about him?"

Lei slightly pursed her lips as her blue eyes shifted away from her friend.

"I think.. He has already forgotten about me.." She said, tightening her hold on the stack of paper.

Mea halted, nearly dropping every single paper in her hands from the shock of what she had just heard, then burst into a loud laughter that echoed through the entire hallway.

Lei only stared at her with confusion.

As she finished laughing, the tall Navi turned in her friend's direction.

"Please, Lei! Bass is borderline obsessed with you. I don't think forgetting you is even possible for him." She reassured, raising an eyebrow at her, "Why would you even think that?"

Lei paused for a bit, her expression turning sad.

"It's just that I haven't seen him in such a long time.." She explained, letting out a soft sigh.

Mea stared down at her for a few moments in silence.

"Why don't you go visit him, then?" She asked, smiling slyly at her.

As they both reached and entered the room in which they needed to put all of the forms they were carrying, Lei told the tall Navi why her going into the UnderNet to visit Bass was out of the question. Mea stopped to think their options for a while, raising a hand to grab her chin as she pondered what could be done in that matter.

Then, her green eyes widened as a large smirk covered her face.

"I have an idea." She suddenly said, grabbing Lei's attention as they both floated out of the room and back to the hallway.

The petite Navi stared up at her tall friend with her full attention, her large blue eyes fixed on her.

"Bass said he doesn't want you to go there _alone_ , didn't he?" She said.

Lei simply nodded, as her eyes suddenly widened with realization.

"Do you think he will..?" Lei started, raising her hand to her mouth.

Mea's smirk turned into a wide grin.

"Only way to find out is to ask him." She said, placing both of her hands on her hips, "Honestly, I don't see why not, for that guy - the UnderNet's a playground."

* * *

The following Sunday, Lei was making her way between the NetCity skyscrapers, flying fast.

Although she knew exactly where she was heading, the female Navi could only pray the person she was hoping to meet would actually be there, and not maybe caught up in a NetBattle or simply hanging out in his PET.

Fortunately for her, she could spot his figure as she flew past the last building, the wide training area now spread before her, making it fairly easy to recognize him fighting against his tall, silver-haired friend.

Both of them stopped all at once as they noticed her presence.

"Lei!" MegaMan called to her, surprised, as she landed on the ground before him.

Lei smiled and waved at him, not forgetting to greet ProtoMan as well.

"Good morning you two, sorry that I appeared so unexpectedly.." She apologized.

MegaMan raised his brows at her words.

"It's totally fine." He reassured her, smiling kindly, then shifted his attention to his tall friend, who was standing right next to him, "ProtoMan, You remember Lei, right?"

The tall, silver-haired Navi nodded, shifting his hand back as their training was now put on hold.

"Bass' girlfriend, how could I forget?" He joked, smiling at her.

His words unintentionally stung her, as she let out a fake laugh.

MegaMan stared at the female Navi in front of him for a few moments in silence.

"Is everything okay, Lei?" He suddenly asked, his expression turning a bit serious.

Lei wallowed hard at his sharp instincts.

 _'Is it really that obvious to everyone around me..? Or is it really_ _bothering me to a certain extent that I can't seem to cover my feeling anymore..?'_ She wondered to herself, a light hint of red forming in her cheeks as she now felt slightly embarrassed.

"Actually, I'm here today to ask you of a rather big favor.." She admitted, her pleading blue eyes fixed on him.

MegaMan and ProtoMan both exchanged confused looks for a moment.

"Well, I'll be back later, then." The tall Navi said, understanding from the atmosphere that his presence was not needed at this moment, "See ya." He then plugged out, disappearing into a bright blue beam of light.

MegaMan shifted his attention to the female Navi in front of him.

"What's up?" He asked, his expression interested.

Lei lifted both her hands and wrapped them around herself, her expression turning sad.

"It's about Bass." She started, shifting her gaze to the ground, "I haven't seen or heard from him in a while and I'm.. Worried."

MegaMan lifted his hand to rub his neck.

"Well, I would've told you that that's just the way he is, but evidently that fact isn't relevant in your case.." He chuckled.

Lei lifted her blue eyes to him.

"He also made me promise him that I won't go looking for him alone in the UnderNet." She added, watching him closely, "That's why.. I thought maybe.. You could come with me to find him together."

The blue Navi's green eyes widened at her request, and he kept quiet for a few moments. Then, he raised both his hands to rest on his waist as he pondered his answer.

Lei swallowed hard as she could only stare at him in silence, waiting anxiously for his reply.

 _'Please, say yes.'_ She wished to herself.

Noticing her expression, the blue Navi simply let out a sigh, and smiled.

"Okay, I'll come with you." He suddenly said.

Lei's blue eyes widened at his words as she suddenly beamed with happiness.

"Oh! Thank you so much MegaMan!" She called, grabbing both of his hands in her small ones and smiling her widest at him.

She knew this blue Navi in front of her probably had much more important things to do instead of this random field trip with her, yet he was kind enough to agree for her sake.

MegaMan could only chuckle as his cheeks turned a bit red with her sudden closeness.

"No problem." He answered her.

Suddenly, his expression turned a bit serious, confusing the female Navi.

"Before we go.." He started, watching her closely, "I guess you've heard about the news lately..?"

Lei stared up at him for a few moments in silence as she recalled the latest headlines. She blinked, remembering them saying something about random parts in the net lately being so unstable, they could crash at any moment, leaving nothing but messed up remains of data behind.

"Do you think we'll run into something like that..?" She asked him, letting go and raising her hand to her mouth as her expression turned a bit worried.

"Let's hope not, but I would need you to stay very close to me, just in case." He explained, his green eyes filled with determination, "Lan and I did some research on those errors lately and found that they seem to be connected to a strange type of virus, and since the UnderNet is full with viruses.. Well, Let's just say that I won't be surprised."

Lei nodded.

"Got it." She confirmed, clenching her fists.

* * *

 **A/N: I am, in fact, still open for suggestions! Check my profile for the details. :)**


	2. Feeling

**A/N: I missed Bass' POV.**

 **~Chapter 2~**

* * *

 **-Two Weeks Earlier-**

Opening his red eyes, Bass quickly lifted himself into a sitting position.

Completely silent, He scanned the area all around him, his expression incredibly serious and his right hand clenched into a fist and ready to attack.

 _'That noise, again..'_ He thought to himself, rising to his feet.

To himself, he described it as a noise. But the truth was that it was more of a sense, a feeling; something that rattles you up inside and suddenly fills you with undeniable dread. And unfortunately for him, lately he found himself to be too familiar with whatever it was.

Bass checked the time and realized that he had managed to sleep for only 3 hours until that strange thing disturbed him.

 _'Whatever, that's enough.'_ He decided to himself, quickly flying away from the random pillar he was standing on, his cloak fluttering in the wind behind him.

Living in the UnderNet, Bass was already used to strange things happening all around him; to odd atmospheres, glitches, viruses.. but this new intense feeling that struck him every now and then was not of the ordinary. Somehow, everything about it was simply screaming with grave danger, and the more it happened, the closer it felt, as if with each time that mysterious thing decided to let itself be known, it only got stronger.

The cloaked Navi picked up his speed as his brow furrowed.

 _'Is she.. Feeling this as well..?'_ He couldn't help but wonder to himself, his expression slightly softening at the memory of the female Navi.

But his small, peaceful moment was interrupted by a sudden realization, followed by a heavy feeling quickly spreading in his chest;

Whatever this new possible enemy was, it could eventually spread out to NetCity as well.

He gritted his teeth as anger and frustration suddenly filled him.

"Like I'd just let that thing do whatever the hell it wants without a fight." He muttered to himself, his red eyes emitting a death glare.

* * *

"Wake up, old man." A sudden firm voice was heard from behind the counter of his shop, making the old NetNavi open his eyes in panic and rise to his feet all at once.

"What the-!" He called, startled, his slanted eyes opening wide, searching all around him for the imminent danger, only to realize it was just Bass standing quietly in front of his shop, his expression irritated.

Jarro let out a loud, relieved sigh.

"Oh, it's only you, Bass.." He said, scratching his back while sitting down on the single chair in his shop, making the old, small thing creak under his weight and seem as if it was about to finally break at any moment now, "Shit, don't scare me like that with all that's been goin' on lately!"

The cloaked Navi raised an eyebrow at the last part of his sentence.

 _'Is this old fool_ _talking about the same thing..?'_ He wondered to himself.

"What's been going on lately?" Bass demanded to know, his expression turning serious and his full attention focused on the source of possible information sitting in front of him.

Jarro shifted in his chair, then checked the time to realize it was incredibly late at night, with every store owner around them probably asleep, making them both the only NetNavi's still awake in the area.

He coughed, then rubbed his face, his expression unreadable.

"You've probably been feelin' it too lately, haven't ya?" The old Navi asked, watching him closely.

Bass blinked.

He kept quiet for a few moments, simply staring at the store owner before him.

"Yes. What is it?" He asked, his stare turning incredibly intense.

Jarro shrugged, leaning forward to rest both of his elbows on his legs, his hands hanging between them, rubbing together in a nervous gesture.

"Nobody knows for sure." He started, a cynical smirk spreading on his face, "I've only heard rumors about it sayin' it's a new kind of virus causin' bad shit everywhere it goes."

The cloaked Navi processed his words for a few moments, shifting his gaze down.

 _'If it's only a virus, then I'll have no problem deleting it.'_ He thought to himself, staring at his hand as he raised it up and clenched it into a fist.

"I know what you're thinkin', don't do that." Jarro's words suddenly snapped him back to reality, causing his red eyes to widen, then shift back up to meet the old clerk's dark ones.

"What did you say?" Bass said, his slightly surprised expression quickly turning into a glare.

The old Navi simply shook his head at him.

"Challengin' it all by yourself's a bad idea, Bass." He explained, his voice surprisingly serious, "Whatever that thing is, it's no ordinary virus. I'm sure you've noticed that too."

Bass gritted his teeth.

"I didn't ask for your damn advice, old man!" He called, his expression turning to pure anger, "If you think I'll back down like a coward just because it's a little more dangerous this time, you're dead wrong."

Jarro simply stared at him for a moment, then broke into a loud, raspy laugh.

"Suit yourself," He started, watching him closely, "But I don't think your lil' girlfriend would appreciate ya throwin' away your life like that."

Bass' red eyes widened at his words.

He swallowed hard.

 _"Promise me you'll stay out of trouble, okay?"_

Lei's soft voice suddenly popped into his mind, making him bury the lower part of his face behind his cloak as he remembered his promise to her, suddenly reminding him that fighting to get stronger while potentially dying was not an option anymore. His top priority now was to stay alive, for her sake.

Neither of them said anything for the longest time.

 _'So what_ _am I supposed to do? Let that fucking thing eventually destroy everything, including her?'_ He asked himself, his expression turning to a mixture of frustration and irritation.

He blinked as he suddenly realized the most obvious solution to his problem without Jarro even having to say anything.

"No way." He suddenly said, dismissing it entirely, "If I'm too weak to defeat it alone, how could I ever hope to keep her safe from all of this nonsense in the future without having to pathetically rely on someone else?"

Jarro's eyes widened at his words, and he kept quiet for a few moments.

"How the hell should I know, try to find a way that won't get ya killed, at least." He answered him.

Bass stared at the old clerk in front of him for a while in silence as he pondered his words, suddenly noticing a wide grin beginning to spread on his round face.

"..What?" The cloaked Navi asked, annoyed.

"She must be a real cutie to get your head spinnin' this way." The old Navi answered, rubbing his chin, his expression interested.

Bass' flinched as his expression turned into a mixture of shock and embarrassment at his words.

"Shut the fuck up!" He hissed, quickly turning his back to the shop and flying away from the area in a desperate attempt to hide the new spreading redness in his face.

 _'Damn that old fool!'_ He thought to himself, clenching his fists, frustrated by the fact that he let himself be teased.

Noticing it was already morning, Bass stopped right in his tracks. He stayed like that for a few moments, raising his gaze to the sky above him as he watched it gradually get filled with various bright colors. He then shifted his red eyes in the direction that would lead him out of the UnderNet and stared at it for a few moments in silence.

Was NetCity even still safe from these bizarre occurrences?

What if somehow, the situation over there was even worse?

His brow furrowed.

 _'MegaMan would've already taken care of that, then.'_ He reassured himself.

But he suddenly found himself not satisfied by that thought alone, and a strong urge to check up on the petite female Navi filled him completely, making his expression turn serious as he changed his course, and picked up his speed in the new direction.

Flying fast through the exit from the UnderNet and high enough to hide himself from view, the cloaked Navi quickly reached the city area and landed on the nearest building to her house, luckily managing to catch her right as she was leaving for her job, floating down the street with a peaceful smile on her face. His expression softened at the sight of her and at the fact that he could finally confirm for himself that NetCity indeed seemed to be safe, for now.

He sat down on the edge of the building and continued his spectating on the female Navi for a few more minutes as she reached her workplace, seeing her suddenly turn around as if she heard something, her surprised expression changing to a soft smile as she waved to another male Navi with a similar outfit to hers, only lined with red streaks instead of blue.

His red eyes narrowed immediately.

Examining the male Navi for a moment, Bass' expression turned to pure anger as he recognized him, remembering that if it was up to him, that pathetic fool would've been long dead.

He blinked as he noticed a few more delivery NetNavis suddenly joining in on their conversation.

Bass couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could somehow feel their carefree atmosphere, their blissful ignorance to the situation and what was really happening beneath the surface without their suspicion.

His brow furrowed as he realized that at that moment, the high contrast between Lei and him was bothering him. It's not that he hadn't thought about it before, but somehow, seeing her in her natural environment like that with his own eyes sparked something in him, seeded a terrible feeling that he couldn't shake off, making him bite his lip and clench his fist.

He quickly rose to his feet and turned on his heel, flying away from the place back to where he belonged.

 **-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

* * *

"So when was the last time you've seen him?" MegaMan suddenly asked, grabbing the petite female Navi's attention as they both walked deeper into the UnderNet.

Lei turned her large blue eyes at his direction, then lowered them down to her feet, letting out another soft sigh.

"3 weeks ago." She replied in a small voice.

The blue Navi stared at her for a few moments in silence.

"You're really worried about him, huh?" He asked, smiling kindly.

Lei simply nodded, lifting her hands to wrap them around herself, a sad smile spreading on her face.

"I'm acting selfishly, I know," she started, turning in his direction, "Bass could have his own reasons for not coming to see me, and yet I even dragged you to go look for him with me.."

MegaMan stopped right in his tracks, making her turn around in his direction with a puzzled expression.

"Lei, I'm gonna be honest with you about two things," he said, raising his hand to rest on his waist, his smile confident, "One; I'm here because I want to, you didn't make me do anything against my will."

The female Navi simply stared at him in silence as he continued;

"Two; If Bass disappears on _you_ of all people for 3 weeks without telling you anything, then you have a rightful reason to worry, since something's definitely off." His smile turned into a large grin as he stepped forward in her direction, "I don't think you're even aware of how much you mean to that guy."

Lei's blue eyes widened at his words as she felt her face get red.

"I.. see.." She almost whispered, feeling a considerable amount of her doubts disappearing.

Then, she blinked.

 _'But, that means..'_ She thought to herself, her expression suddenly shifting to a worried one as she realized the meaning behind what he said. She watched him closely as she clenched her fists, her brow furrowing at the possibility;

"Do you think.. something happened to him..?" The dreadful question left her mouth to hover heavily in the air.

MegaMan stopped to think of his answer, his troubled expression turning serious. While the last thing he wanted was to make Lei even more worried, all signs pointed to the fact that Bass might actually be-

"What the hell are you two doing here?" A firm voice was suddenly heard from above them, surprising both Navis as they shifted their gaze to the source of it.

Bass was floating above them, in one piece, gritting his teeth and his expression pure anger.

* * *

 **A/N: Rest assured - Bass is okay. (And he's still a big Tsundere.)  
**

 **So yeah, this story's gonna be more than 3 chapters, I guess I'll just keep writing and we'll see where we end up.**

 **Thanks for your reviews, btw! I'm happy to know people still remember and follow this!  
**


	3. Power

**~Chapter 3~**

* * *

Neither of them said anything as they all stared at each other for a few moments in silence.

"Bass!" MegaMan called up to him, his expression turning excited by how lucky they were to be able to find him so easily this time. He turned his gaze to the female Navi standing next to him, expecting her to show an equal amount of excitement as him, only to turn incredibly confused by her worried expression.

Lei was still staring up at the cloaked Navi in complete silence.

 _'Bass..'_ She thought to herself, her hands clenching into fists as she could tell something was wrong from how distant his eyes were.

It was just like that day back then, after he attacked Dean.

"You fool!" Bass suddenly yelled, shifting his full attention to the blue Navi as his glare threatened to bore a hole through him, "Why the hell did you bring her here?!"

MegaMan's green eyes widened at his words.

"Woah! Hey! I'm only here as an escort." He replied, lifting both of his hands before him in an attempt to calm the furious cloaked Navi floating above him.

Bass gritted his teeth.

"I don't fucking care!" He hissed, turning his back to the both of them and preparing to leave, "Get her out of here right now! You of all people should know why, you idiot!"

MegaMan's expression turned troubled as he once again shifted his gaze to Lei, only to notice that the female Navi's expression only turned more worried at his words, making him realize this whole situation was gradually leaving him completely clueless in terms of ideas to solve it, and to why Lei wasn't saying anything.

But just as Bass began leaving the place, Lei suddenly flew up with high speed in his direction to block his way, spreading both of her arms to guarantee that he won't be able to get through, her expression shifting into pure determination.

"Stop." She demanded, her blue eyes fixed on him. There was no way she would let him just leave without an explanation to why he simply disappeared on her without saying a word.

But her expression turned into pure shock as she now could finally see his features up closely.

Bass was in bad shape, to say the least. He seemed like he was beaten up in a long session of fighting, parts of his face and whatever parts of his body she could see not hidden by his cloak were dissolving.

It was as if all he had done during those three weeks was nothing but constantly get into fights.

"What.. Happened to you..?" She asked, her blue eyes widening with worry as she floated closer to him.

But the cloaked Navi immediately drew back from her in response, then lowered his gaze down until his red eyes were completely hidden from view behind his dark helmet.

"Don't worry about me and get out of here, Lei." He said, his firm voice hinted with frustration.

MegaMan's brow furrowed as he noticed Lei's expression from below, and he quickly used some remaining flying chip data that he saved from his training with ProtoMan, moving up quickly in both of their direction and stopping right next to the female Navi.

He swallowed hard as he could now see why Lei was looking so upset for, recognizing that his wounds were from powerful virus attacks.

"Bass! What the hell did you-"

MegaMan's words were suddenly cut as the cloaked Navi reached his left arm out and grabbed his neck, his expression shifting into pure anger and his red eyes emitting a death glare.

It all happened so fast, Lei took a few seconds to process what was happening before her;

Bass was _attacking_ MegaMan.

"You useless idiot!" He yelled at the struggling blue Navi in his grip, "There's a deadly virus running free and you bring her here?!" He raised his right hand from inside his cloak and clenched it into a fist.

Lei's blue eyes widened as she figured what he was about to do, and she quickly moved in Bass' direction, reaching both of her hands out to wrap them around his body underneath his arms, squeezing him as tight as she could in a desperate attempt to somehow make him stop, or at least calm him down.

Bass' red eyes shifted down at her direction to meet her pleading large, blue ones, noticing her alarmed expression.

"Please, don't!" She begged him in a small voice, making his red eyes widen, "I was the one who asked MegaMan to come with me because I was worried! Don't hurt him."

He gritted his teeth as he stared down at her for a few moments, then released his grip on the blue Navi.

MegaMan quickly retreated back, coughing and rubbing his now slightly dissolving neck.

 _'Thank god.'_ Lei thought to herself, letting out a silent, relieved breath as she could now confirm that he was out of danger. Then, she blinked as she felt both of Bass' large hands grab her upper arms to move her away and release her grip on him, making her raise her confused gaze up in his direction.

Although significantly calmer, His expression was unreadable, only making the petite female Navi more worried.

They both stared at each other in silence for a few moments, his hands still holding her arms.

There was no denying it now from his disappearance, the way he looked and his agitated behavior; Bass was bothered by something, and Lei knew there was no way for her to know what it was without him sharing it with her.

"Bass.. Please tell me what's wrong.." She whispered to him, biting her lip.

The cloaked Navi simply continued staring down at her in silence, not answering her request and eventually shifting his red eyes away from her.

Suddenly, the whole place began shaking, making all three Navi's eyes widen and their expressions turn alarmed, as bits and bits of the ground below them started slowly dissolving.

"What's going on?! Is this..?!" MegaMan called, his surprised expression turning serious as he quickly shifted his right hand to a large blade.

Bass gritted his teeth as he could feel it again, the same heavy feeling in his chest that was now stronger than ever, as if threatening to wipe all three of them from existence in a single moment.

And it was too late to run, now.

Lei's blue eyes widened in horror as a huge virus appeared before them, something that she had never seen before in her life; it was vague in color, a mixture of dark green and grey, and had spikes which came from all sides of it, two of them skewered into the ground below them, sucking more of its data with each second.

The mere gossip floating around in NetCity had absolutely nothing on the real thing.

"Damn it!" Bass let one hand go from the female Navi as he used his other one to yank her behind him while moving to float in front of her. "MegaMan!" He called to the blue Navi, his expression incredibly serious.

MegaMan turned in his direction.

"Take Lei out of here right now!"

But before the blue Navi even had a chance to respond, the virus already released his attack in their direction, sending two spikes in an attempt to absorb them completely.

MegaMan quickly dodged one of them, managing to cut the other one that was heading to Bass and Lei.

Bass quickly turned around in the female Navi direction.

"Go with him, now." He commanded with a firm voice, shifting his right hand to a buster and shooting countless dark energy shots at the virus, managing to successfully distract it as he flew closer in it's direction.

"Bass!" Lei called to him, her thoughts quickly cut by MegaMan grabbing her arm, making her shift her worried expression to him.

"I gotta get you to safety! Bass could manage on his own for now! Come on!" He explained, flying away from the place fast with Lei quickly after him.

She turned her head back at the cloaked Navi's direction, her blue eyes going wide as she saw his attacks somehow make almost no difference at all, and him barely managing to dodge the virus' countless spikes, probably due to his condition.

She breathed deep, her hands clenching into fists and her expression determined.

"MegaMan! It's okay, go help him!" She suddenly called, stopping in her place and pulling on his arm.

The blue Navi turned his gaze in her direction, his expression turning confused.

"No way, if we stop here you could get hurt!" He protested.

But the female Navi's blue eyes only filled with more determination.

"I don't need you to find a safe place for me, I can find one on my own, and Bass needs your help! Please!" She begged him, pulling on his arm in the virus' direction, her expression suddenly turning incredibly worried, "If anything happens to him..!"

MegaMan's green eyes widened as he stared at her for a few moments in silence.

Then, he nodded, his expression turning serious.

"Don't worry, we'll end this quick." He reassured her, smiling confidently. Then, he flew past her with high speed, managing to save Bass from a deadly spike attack just in time.

The cloaked Navi breathed deep as his red eyes widened with anger.

"MegaMan! Her safety comes first!" He yelled, his expression turning incredibly displeased at the fact that the blue Navi seemed to abandon his mission.

MegaMan turned in his direction as his confident smile turned into a large grin.

"I know, That's why we should quit messing around end this thing right now!" He said, reaching out his left hand to him.

Bass' brow furrowed in confusion as he stared at his gesture for a few moments, then let out a mocking breath as he understood what he was offering.

"Forget it!" He called, slapping away his reached-out hand, his expression a mixture of frustration and anger, "I don't need to rely on your pathetic help!"

MegaMan processed his words for a moment as they both dodged a few more spike attacks. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What are you talking about?! We've been through something like this before, Bass! Did you forget how we beat Nebula Grey together?!" He asked, blocking a few energy shots fired at them.

But Bass didn't answer him, and only continued attacking.

"Bass! What's with you?!" MegaMan desperately asked, grabbing the cloaked Navi's shoulder.

Gritting his teeth, Bass shoved the blue Navi away from him.

"Get away from me!" He yelled, clenching his fists, "It's not the same as before..! I _have_ to defeat this thing on my own!"

Utterly confused by his sudden statement, MegaMan swallowed hard, His brow furrowing as he noticed a spark of worry in his eyes just now.

 _'What the hell is up with this guy..? Why would he refuse cross-fusion all of a sudden.. Saying he doesn't want to rely on my powers..?'_ he thought to himself.

Then, the blue Navi blinked as his green eyes widened with realization.

"Don't tell me it's because you think you're too weak to protect Lei this way!" He suddenly called, making Bass shift in his direction, his expression turning to pure anger.

"Shut the fuck up!" He shot in response, gritting his teeth.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by countless spike attacks shot in their direction, closing in on them from all sides and trapping them with no way out. MegaMan looked all around him, realizing this was probably the start of a big, final attack meant to delete and absorb them both completely.

"Bass!" He called in the cloaked Navi's direction, "You're not relying on my strength! We're equals! I need your power just as much as you need mine in the cross-fusion, and right now, the longer this virus exists while threatening to absorb the CyberWorld, the more Lei's in danger as well!"

The cloaked Navi's brow furrowed at his words as he continued;

"Let's combine our powers and defeat this thing as quickly as possible!" MegaMan said, once again, reaching his hand out to him.

Bass stared at his gesture one more time in silence for a few moments, his expression turning displeased.

Suddenly, energy started gathering above them with a loud noise, making both Navis look up in its direction and realize they probably have a matter of seconds before the virus released its final attack on them, and since they have literally no where to run to..

"Bass?!" MegaMan urged, shifting his serious gaze once again in his direction, his hand still in the air, waiting for his response.

The cloaked Navi turned to him in a swift movement.

"Damn it!" He suddenly called, finally accepting his offer and grabbing it, locking both of their forearms together.

Flying away from the place fast, a sudden surge of incredible power hit through the whole area with a gust of wind that threatened to blow her away, making Lei's blue eyes widen as she stopped and turned around to look at the source of it. She was almost too far to even see what was going on, but she could recognize a huge, glowing, bright orb floating before the virus, its dark green spikes blown out and shredded to bits with dust flying everywhere.

 _'What.. is that?'_ Lei thought to herself, her lips parting in disbelief.

She flew closer just to have a better glance, her blue eyes widening as she recognized a NetNavi coming out of that orb; someone who looked a lot like Bass with similar fins on their helmet, dark purple and golden colors, only.. not quite, and his power something that even she as a non-fighting type NetNavi could tell, was absolutely tremendous.

* * *

 **A/N: Cross-fusion! Yay!**

 **Lots of drama in this one, Hehe :)  
**

 **Please continue giving me your feedback in the reviews! I'm always happy to hear what you guys think.**


	4. Everything

**A/N: **When MegaMan and Bass talk via Cross-fusion in this chapter, nobody else can hear them ^^.  
**

 **~Chapter 4~**

* * *

Lei could only stare at the mysterious, new fighter with wide eyes. She never felt anything quite like what she was feeling at that moment before; their power was so great, it was quickly spreading through the entire area in huge waves, making it impossible to not notice its source. But somehow, the massive energy surge didn't feel hostile or dangerous to her, instead, it felt more protective, reassuring.

She blinked as she realized this type of feeling could only come from _them_. But.. Fused together?

The female Navi squinted her eyes.

 _'How could that be both MegaMan and Bass..?'_ She wondered, her gaze curiously examining the fighter's entire figure.

Then, she suddenly remembered her conversation with MegaMan a while back when he told her about Bass agreeing to combine his powers with him in order to defeat a strong, mutual enemy, resulting in a special kind of fusion that can only be achieved through a strong bond between two NetNavis.

Her blue eyes widened with realization.

"So that's.. Double Soul Fusion..?" She asked herself in a small voice, raising a hand to her mouth. "Wow.."

But her quiet moment of relief was suddenly interrupted as the virus began sending countless spike attacks at the fused fighter's direction, making her expression turn worried and her blue eyes go wide.

He only raised his right hand at the direction of the upcoming danger, the spikes hitting and quickly disintegrating against what seemed to be an impossibly powerful invisible shield.

 _"MegaMan, stop stalling already, I want to end this right now."_ Bass' voice was heard through the fusion.

 _"Well, that's the idea."_ The blue Navi replied, blocking another set of spike attacks, _"Don't worry, I care about Lei too and I won't let her get hurt."_

 _"Shut up, you fool!"_ Bass suddenly yelled, making MegaMan's green eyes go wide, _"Telling me you 'care about her' You understand absolutely_ _nothing."_

He took a few moments to process his words

 _"What do you mean?"_ MegaMan asked, confused.

But the cloaked Navi kept silent for the longest time.

 _"It's easy for you to say, you're the damn hero."_ He answered, irritated, only making The blue Navi more confused as he tried to make sense out of his partner's words.

 _"Look, I don't get what's really bothering you, but I can assure you this virus is going down, right now."_ He said, a confident smile spreading on his face.

Watching everything that was happening before her, Lei's blue eyes widened as the fighter suddenly disappeared completely from sight. But before she could even guess his whereabouts, she noticed him immediately appearing above the virus, his hand already shifted into a blade, quickly releasing an impossibly fast strike down at its direction and cutting it completely in half.

The power of the attack was so big, Lei had to cover from the shock wave that followed it and she quickly flew down to hide behind a huge rock as the wind blew through the entire area with a loud howl.

Looking all around her and realizing she was now safe, the female Navi released a relieved breath.

"That was close.." She said to herself, swallowing hard while fixing her long ponytail.

As she noticed everything suddenly went quiet, Lei floated slowly to the top of the rock she was hiding behind, her expression shifting into a worried one as she saw that although the attack eliminated the virus' original form, it also unintentionally divided it into countless smaller versions of itself that now roamed freely through the entire area.

 _"Crap!"_ MegaMan said, looking all around him and realizing that while these new small viruses were significantly weaker, they could still suck enough data from everything around them to eventually grow back into the bigger, stronger version they all knew too well.

 _"What the hell are you doing?!_ _We need to eliminate them all before they escape!"_ Bass suddenly called, ending the Double Soul fusion and separating from the blue Navi completely.

MegaMan nodded as his surprised expression turned determined, realizing that their best option was indeed to spread out and destroy every single one of them separately as quickly as possible.

Both Navis shifted both of their hands into two busters, then started firing, efficiently deleting every single virus in sight while making sure that nothing remained behind. But the more they attacked, the more the viruses tried to escape, eventually almost reaching the area where the female Navi was hiding.

"Bass! They're heading in Lei's direction!" MegaMan called.

The cloaked Navi's red eyes widened as He flew with impossible speed to the rocky area, passing the troublesome group of viruses and quickly landing on the surface before them to block their way. He then shifted his hands back and raised his open palms at their direction, firing a massive dark energy attack that wiped them all in a single moment, not leaving even a trace of data behind.

"Lei!" He yelled, looking all around him.

The petite female Navi quickly floated from her hiding place at the sound of her name.

"I'm here..!" She answered him, her expression worried.

"Stupid! Stay right where you are." He called to her, his voice firm and his expression irritated, making her flinch and stop right in her place, then return to her hiding place as he quickly followed behind while looking all around to make sure that no virus was close enough to pose a threat.

As they both landed on the safe surface hidden from view, Bass let out a deep breath, then turned in her direction.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

Lei shook her head and only stared up at him for a few moments in silence. She then stepped closer to him, her expression once again turning sad at the sight of his wounds up close.

Swallowing hard, Bass felt his systems go haywire at her sudden closeness. Somehow, not seeing her for so long only made it more effective.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it." He said, quickly averting his red eyes away from her.

The female Navi kept silent as she simply lifted her hands to his wounded face, making him flinch at her sudden touch and quickly shift his surprised gaze back down at her direction.

"I was so worried about you.." She almost whispered, her large blue eyes fixed on him and both her hands gently cupping his face.

Bass frowned at her words.

"You didn't need to." He answered her, lifting both of his large hands to grab her palms and lower them down from his face, "I said I'm fine."

The female Navi's expression turned displeased.

"I haven't seen or heard from you in three weeks," She started, staring up at him, "Why did you disappear on me..?"

Bass kept quiet for the longest time, not breaking her eye contact for a second.

"I was trying to keep you safe." He answered.

Lei stared up at him as she processed his words, her expression turning confused.

 _'Keep me safe..?'_ She thought to herself, her blue eyes desperately trying to figure him out.

"By constantly fighting..?" She asked.

Bass' expression turned irritated.

"I eliminated every damn virus I could find in those three weeks!" He answered, raising his voice and making the female Navi's blue eyes widen at his words.

"You promised me you'll stay away from trouble!" She shot back at him, her hands clenching into fists still in his grip, "How's that keeping me safe?"

"I don't know any other way!" He suddenly snapped, letting go of her hands and clenching his own into fists, "I tried to get rid of that fucking virus on my own, but I couldn't find it,"

She simply stared up at him in silence as he continued;

"And when I finally did, I had to rely on MegaMan's damn powers..!" His voice was low and filled with frustration, "..I couldn't even protect you by myself."

Lei lowered her gaze to her feet as she processed his words.

 _'So that's the reason.. He was so bothered..?'_ She thought to herself, her expression gradually softening, _'He tried to prove that he was strong enough to protect me without needing anyone's help..?'_

Lifting her face back to him, Lei simply raised both of her hands up to lightly tug on his cloak.

 _'How silly..'_ She thought to herself.

"I already feel the safest when I'm with you, Bass." She said, smiling softly up at him, "You're more than good enough for me."

He simply stared down at her in silence, his red eyes wide and his strong gaze fixed on her as his lips pursed with great displeasure at the fact that he simply didn't know what to say.

This girl somehow always managed to find different ways to leave him completely speechless.

His brow furrowed as he swallowed hard. Then, he lifted both of his arms and wrapped them around the petite Navi, one over her right shoulder, holding onto her left one and the other grabbing her lower back, pulling her closer against him into a hug, trying his best to use almost no strength at all.

Lei let go of his cloak as she slid both of her hands under his arms in response, stopping at the center of his back.

She breathed deep.

"Why were you so pressured to prove yourself like that..?" She whispered, squeezing him tighter while slightly burying her face into his shoulder.

Bass kept completely silent for a few moments as he pondered his answer.

How could he tell her that their lifestyle is completely different? That she has her work, her carefree life in the city, her stupid friends.. How could he tell this girl that he felt like she was so impossibly far away, it was only a matter of time before something else caught her attention and took her away from him completely; Before she met someone else who was closer, and who could keep her safe easily at any given moment?

He stopped as he blinked with realization.

 _'I'm acting like a pathetic_ _fool.'_ He slapped himself mentally for sinking too deep into these new, useless insecurities of his.

He decided on a simple question. Something that will guarantee him with either a yes, or a no.

"Can I trust your word..?" He asked her, feeling the blush cover his face as he felt all of his walls crumble down. He was so impossibly vulnerable at that moment, it was ridiculous.

Lei blinked as she heard him, and she kept silent for the longest time. Then, she moved back a bit to have a clear look of his face.

Her expression was as sincere as he had ever seen, and her blue eyes staring up at him with what he recognized as an incredible desire to understand him. At that moment he felt like he was entirely in this girl's control, as if whatever she said next will either save him, or break him completely.

Bass knew he was betraying his own promise to never let himself be in _that_ situation again; betting his trust on someone else so innocently, so foolishly. But he also found himself completely powerless against her.

And somehow.. A tiny part of him felt like this may be a risk that he waited his whole life to take.

Lei continued staring up at him for a few more moments in silence.

She was simply at loss of words. What else could she possibly say to prove to this NetNavi before her just how important he was to her?

 _'Will he ever just trust_ _me..?'_ She desperately thought to herself, feeling frustration and sadness quickly block her throat.

She let out a soft sigh as she released her grip on his body, then lowered her gaze to his scarred chest.

Bass simply watched her, understanding from her silence that a terrible response was about to come. One he expected, but didn't hope for.

Suddenly, His red eyes widened as he noticed tears begin to fall down both sides of her face.

He was shocked, but he was given no time to react to what was happening before him, as Lei simply moved up in his direction and kissed him, her hands following shortly as she lifted them up to hesitantly grab his shoulders.

The cloaked Navi was left frozen against her sudden actions. He simply tried to wrap around the idea that this girl was so upset, she was _crying_. He never understood the act of crying; He himself never cried before in his life as he deemed it a pathetic act of self pity. But this was different, as Lei wasn't just crying; she was crying for _him._

And her kiss was soft, searching, uncertain. It wasn't like anything before, this time he felt her pour her entire self into it, he could feel her desperate try to tell him that she's serious about him, and her strong desire to give him everything she possibly could;

Lei was letting down her guard completely and betting her all on this, just like him.

As he realized this fact, Bass slid his hands around her waist and pulled the petite Navi closer against him as he closed his eyes and finally returned her kiss.

Lei opened her blue eyes slightly as she felt him react to her at last. She was so impossibly happy that she just couldn't stop her tears, and she closed her eyes again as the blush covered her whole face.

"I missed you so much-" She whispered in a soft voice, her words slightly muffled against his mouth, making him tilt his head and pick up his pace as his kiss turned gradually more intense by the moment.

Suddenly, he moved his lips down to her neck.

Lei's blue eyes fluttered open as she felt him kiss her softly, making her shiver.

"..Um.. Bass..?" Confused, She asked through heavy breathing, but the cloaked Navi didn't answer her, nor did he stop.

"Guys! We have to go-" MegaMan suddenly popped from around the corner of the huge rock both of them were standing behind, making them jolt with surprise, his expression turning into pure shock as he realized what he was seeing and the color in his face quickly turning crimson red.

"W-WOAH! I-I'm sorry! So sorry!" He called in pure panic as he lifted both of his hands to cover his eyes in embarrassment, then turned himself around to grant the startled couple time to release each other completely, both of them flustered and embarrassed at the awkwardness of the situation.

"What the fuck do you want, gnat!" Bass shot at him, incredibly annoyed by the fact that his sworn rival could be this stupid.

Still standing with his back to the both of them, MegaMan swallowed hard.

"U-uh, We have to go. I'm terribly sorry guys, but this place is incredibly unstable from the virus attack and it might start crashing at any moment now." He explained, shifting his gaze to peek behind him, noticing everything was somewhat normal enough for him to once again turn in their direction. "I already took care of all the remaining viruses, so.."

Bass simply glared at him for a few more moments, then shifted his attention to Lei, who was leaning against the rocky wall behind her, wiping away the remains of her tears.

"Let's go." He said, as all three of them nodded, then floated up to the air, picking up their speed in the direction that will lead them back to NetCity.

* * *

 **A/N: Bass finally shares his worries with Lei which leads to major fluff ^^ (That later gets violently interrupted by MegaMan. Poor guy's really having a hard time in this story.)  
**

 **One more chapter to go! :)**


	5. Confession

**~Chapter 5~**

 **FINAL**

* * *

Flying back with high speed, Lei couldn't help but notice the atmosphere was incredibly awkward. Or rather, it was impossible for her to not realize that fact as she somehow ended up right in the middle of it, with MegaMan on her left and Bass on her right, both with unreadable expressions and neither of them saying a word.

She swallowed hard as she remembered the reason behind it, making a hint of red form in her cheeks.

 _'MegaMan's probably as embarrassed about it as we are..'_ She thought to herself as she glanced at him, trying her best to somehow figure out what on earth he was thinking.

But the blue Navi was surprisingly focused on their destination, not even noticing her staring.

 _'Maybe he's even angry about being dragged into this whole mess..'_ She let out a worried breath as she shifted her gaze forward, _'Well, I guess that only makes sense..'_

Her expression turned troubled as the various possibilities never stopped going through her mind. So much so that without noticing, all three of them soon reached the entrance to NetCity. They flew through the portal and lowered themselves onto the ground just outside it as they could now notice the familiar bright city lights in the distance through the dark night. She would've easily enjoyed the beautiful sight before her if it wasn't for the impossibly heavy silence.

Lei shifted her gaze to Bass, who was already staring at her, his expression still as unreadable as ever. She then glanced once again in MegaMan's direction, but he was only staring at the distance, still not giving her any clues on what was going through his head.

Her expression turned worried as she raised her hands to her chest, clenching them into fists.

"MegaMan, I'm sorry." She suddenly said, her voice hesitant and her blue eyes fixed on him.

MegaMan's expression turned surprised as he heard her and he immediately turned in her direction.

"Hm? About what?" He asked, blinking at her.

Lei stepped closer to him, grabbing both of his hands in her small ones, making his green eyes widen.

"I shouldn't have dragged you into this whole mess.. I'm so sorry.." She apologized sincerely, lowering her gaze down, "Thank you so much for coming with me, and for everything that you've done."

The blue Navi's face turned red at her actions and words as his expression shifted into pure confusion.

"Uh, It's totally fine, Lei!" He said, smiling nervously and desperately trying to assure her that he really didn't mind any of it, "I mean, we got to beat that terrible virus that threatened everyone, after all!"

Lei lifted her gaze back to him as she heard his words.

"Really..? You're not mad?" She asked in a soft voice, her expression still troubled.

MegaMan shot her with a confident smile.

"Of course not, I actually feel much better after knowing that we managed to save the CyberWorld, once again." He explained.

Lei continued staring up at him for a few moments in silence as her expression turned a bit surprised.

 _'So he wasn't angry..'_ She thought to herself, letting out a relieved sigh and feeling the weight of her worries quickly fade away.

"I see.." She said.

"That's enough." Bass suddenly cut into their conversation, making both Navis shift their attention to him.

His expression was incredibly irritated and his glare fixed on them, making Lei quickly let go of the blue Navi and step back, as his confident smile turned troubled.

"Pfft- No need to get jealous, I'm leaving." MegaMan answered him, then shifted his gaze to Lei, who only smiled and nodded in response.

Both remaining Navis watched as CyberWorld's most famous hero disappeared into a bright blue beam of light, plugging out safely to his PET.

"I'll take you home." Bass suddenly said, shifting his gaze to her.

But just as he prepared to start flying, Lei reached her hand out and grabbed his cloak, making him stop and turn at her direction.

"What is it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

The female Navi smiled softly.

"How about we stay?" She suggested, letting go of the fabric and sitting herself down on the edge of the path they were standing on while shifting her gaze to the pulsating lights of the buildings in the distance, "It's really beautiful here."

Bass stared down at her for a few moments in silence.

"Finding interest in simple, irrelevant things, again?" He mocked her, his mouth breaking into half of a smile.

Lei shifted her gaze back at his direction, her expression turning displeased.

"I find interest in you, too, does that make you simple and irrelevant?" She answered him, a playful smile spreading on her face.

Bass buried the lower part of his face behind his cloak as he kept quiet for a few moments, then stepped forward to sit down beside her.

Lei giggled as she realized how easily he was persuaded, making him turn his gaze in her direction, his red eyes narrowing greatly.

She only smiled wide at him in response, then turned to look back at the city as a sudden gust of wind suddenly flowed through the area and in her long, brown hair, making her breath deeply.

"I'm so glad that we came to find you." She said, lowering her blue eyes down to her feet as she slightly kicked her right leg back and forth, "I kept wondering what you were up to all this time."

The cloaked Navi continued his staring for a few more moments in silence.

"I can take care of myself." He answered her, his red eyes fixed on her.

Lei turned her gaze to him.

"I know that." She said with a soft voice, a sad smile appearing on her face, "It's just that I've really missed you.. I thought that you had forgotten all about me."

Bass said nothing for the longest time. He was fascinated by how easily this girl next to him could admit these embarrassing things to him, and how everything she said always had this huge effect on him.

"I can't forget you." He started, his voice low and his expression unreadable, yet his gaze incredibly intense.

He breathed deep as he shifted his red eyes to the distance.

"All I ever had before on my mind was revenge and power. I didn't even believe anything else was worth thinking about. MegaMan was the one who showed me that my quest for revenge was pointless, but while he freed me from the never-ending hateful life I've grown so accustomed to, he also.. left me with an impossible void; I didn't know what I was supposed to do now that I had no purpose, anymore."

Lei only stared at him, listening to his every word as he continued;

"Then, I met you. I didn't understand how you could be so confident, so calm in an environment that was completely different from where you belonged; in such a dangerous place like the UnderNet when you don't even have a fighting ability. You weren't scared of _me_ , even; instead you were interested, you wanted to know about me, to understand me.. I eventually.. found myself unable to stop thinking about you, and I don't think I'll ever be able to stop. You somehow filled that void completely.. I have a new reason now, a new propose.. a _need_ to protect."

The female Navi took a few moments to process everything he had just told her.

Noticing she was incredibly quiet, Bass turned in her direction, his red eyes going wide as he noticed her blushing face and surprised expression, making him realize he had basically just confessed his feelings to her, his own face reaching impossible shades of red as he buried it behind his cloak and quickly shifted his gaze away.

Neither of them said anything for a few moments.

"Um, thank you, Bass." Lei suddenly said, lifting both of her hands to cup her cheeks, realizing how hot they feel to the touch, "I'm happy to finally know that you feel this way.."

Bass kept quiet for the longest time, then clenched both of his hands into fists.

"..All these damn new feelings, also.." He started, still looking away, "I never wanted.. to let my guard down around someone else in my life, I never wanted to get close to anyone before.. I never thought I'd feel content by just being able to.. hold you." The blush in his cheeks only grew the more he talked.

"It's new for me too.." Lei admitted, making him shift his gaze back in her direction, "I'm just impossibly happy whenever I'm with you.. and.. I want to protect you as well."

Bass raised an eyebrow at her.

"You want to protect _me?_ " He asked.

Noticing his skeptic tone, Lei lifted both of her hands to her chest and clenched them into fists with a swift movement, as her expression turned confident.

"Yup, I'm gonna protect you, Bass." She declared, smiling her widest at him, "I'll fight away anything that might hurt you."

The cloaked Navi simply stared at her for a few more moments, never breaking her eye contact for even a second.

Somehow, just that sentence alone was enough to prove to him that this girl was everything he was missing before in his life.

"You can't even throw a punch." He answered her, lifting his left hand out of his cloak and opening his palm at her direction, "Here, give it your best shot."

Lei's expression turned determined as she focused her eyes on his open hand. She bit her lower lip as she punched it as hard as she could, only for Bass to grab her fist and pull her closer to him.

Before she could process what happened, he reached his free hand to the back of her head to keep her steady and kissed her softly.

"Not fair.." She muttered against him as she broke the kiss for a moment, only for his mouth to quickly capture hers once again with another.

Moving away slowly, both of them simply stared at each other for the longest time in silence.

"It's late, I'll take you home." Bass suddenly said, gazing down at her.

Lei nodded, as both of them floated to their feet, then away from the place in the direction of NetCity, carefully moving through the buildings high enough to prevent anyone from seeing them, eventually reaching the female Navi's house.

Lei stared down at it for a few moments in silence.

 _'So I guess we part our ways here..'_ She thought to herself, suddenly feeling a hint of sadness.

Lei knew things would probably be a bit different now, considering there was no threat to keep Bass busy in the UnderNet anymore, and she knew that she just needs to believe in him and trust that he's going to be okay, but still.. she couldn't help but wonder when they were going to meet again. She could only hope it wouldn't be anything like those 3 weeks of silence.

The female Navi blinked as a sudden idea shot through her mind, and she quickly turned her gaze to Bass.

"Do you want to stay the night?" She asked him, her expression amused.

The cloaked Navi narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm not sure I want you to attack me in your sleep, _again._ " He answered her, crossing his hands at her direction.

 _'Attack him.. in my sleep..?'_ Lei processed his words in her mind, her expression confused.

She suddenly remembered the last time she stayed the night at the UnderNet with him, and how she never quite understood how on earth they ended up snuggled against each other when she woke up in the morning.

Her face turned red.

"That was me..?" She almost whispered, her blue eyes wide.

Bass nodded, watching her closely.

The female Navi raised a hand to her mouth and kept silent for the longest time as she shifted her gaze away in embarrassment.

Then, she blinked, and her expression softened, surprising him as she once again shifted her gaze to him.

"Well, I wouldn't mind ending up like that again.." She admitted, smiling softly, making his red eyes widen and his face turn bright red.

"Unbelievable." He hissed at her.

Lei giggled at his reaction, then she flew closer to grab his hand and pull him after her as she led him down to the window of her house.

He didn't even struggle.

END

* * *

 **A/N: So, another installment finished!**

 **I appreciate everyone who still remembered and liked this idea after my first fic enough to follow and review this story as well! Thank you!**

 **Also, BakedPopsicles, I hope this continuation was enjoyable enough, I did my best to somehow think of a reasonable, legitimate issue that our little couple might suffer from considering their relationship, to make things interesting. ^^**

 **Btw, really sorry for the late update!**

 **Feel free to tell me what you thought of this third part in the reviews! :)**


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